Welcome and Introduction

The Brain and Diabetes: What Is the Link Between Diabetes and Dementia

Studies have shown that people living with Type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. This session includes:

• How does diabetes potentially cause dementia?
• Is there a way we can prevent diabetes-related dementia?
• How does vascular dementia differ from other dementias?
• How does diabetes impact dementia?
• How can we support people with diabetes and dementia?

Scope of Practice – No Shades of Grey

The scope of practice for enrolled nurses need not be a grey area. While the scope of practice across all aspects of nursing is ever-changing, it is possible to find your sweet spot. This next session will clarify any grey areas and offer case scenarios to assist you in applying this knowledge to your role. This session discusses:

• How the scope of practice for enrolled nurses has evolved over time
• What the current role of the enrolled nurses encapsulates
• How enrolled nurses can expand their scope of practice

Saints and Sinners: Healthcare Professionals and Addictions

The TV show Nurse Jackie showed us a healthcare professional with an addiction to prescription medication. Though people have complained about it, it highlights an issue that affects nurses and other healthcare professionals worldwide. This session will explore:

• What are the reasons why some healthcare professionals become addicted to prescription medication, alcohol and/or other drugs?
• Are there any challenges faced by healthcare professionals who want to seek treatment for these addictions?
• How can we help our colleagues who may be addicted to prescription medication and alcohol and/or other drugs?

When Less Is More? Recognising the Unnecessary Use of Medicines

The adverse effects of medications are a constant concern for healthcare professionals. Knowing the potential risks for a medication can significantly prevent injury or harm, such as falls. This session will look at the adverse effects of medications, the need for deprescribing and how to prevent unnecessary harm. It includes:

• What are some of the common adverse effects of medicines?
• How can you reduce the risk of harm associated with medicines?
• Why is it important to be aware of adverse effects?
• What are the principles of deprescribing?

Clinical Enrolled Nurse Detective – What Condition Is This?

As enrolled nurses, we use critical thinking skills and professional judgment on a daily basis in our practice. It is important that we continue to revise and strengthen these skills to ensure that we are able to recognise and act on important changes in a patient’s condition in a timely manner. In this session, you will:

• Gradually move through a case scenario
• It will reinforce why certain diagnostic tests, observations and procedures are undertaken to confirm or eliminate potential clinical problems
• Along the way, you will be given pieces of information that you can use to solve the case
• Are you ready, detective?

Diabetes Disaster Preparedness

Natural or manmade disasters can happen at any time and we have to be ready for any situation. This is especially true for people living with diabetes, as any disaster can be detrimental. This session includes:

• How are natural disasters deleterious for your patients/residents with diabetes?
• What do you have to prepare for your patients/residents with diabetes in case of an emergency?
• Can these patients use other forms of diabetes medication in emergency situations?
• What do we have to watch out for when caring for these patients in an emergency?
• Are there any special considerations we have to be aware of?

Nil-by-Mouth and Diabetes

People with diabetes who present in acute care are likely to have special needs. This session will look at some of the challenges that enrolled nurses must be aware of when caring for diabetes patients. It includes:

• Administration of insulin to a patient who is nil-by-mouth – important considerations and precautions
• Care of an “at-risk” patient with diabetes who should not undergo surgery
• What to do when a patient with diabetes needs preparation for surgery

Revolving Doors – Helping Older Adults Avoid Admission

An older adult’s quality of life is likely to be significantly challenged when faced with illness, injury or disease. Comprehensive care that ensures older adults avoid unnecessary hospitalisation is a pillar of promoting the best possible quality of life. This session will look at:

• Why might a hospital admission be harmful to an older adult?
• How does avoiding hospitalisation improve quality of life?
• What nursing practices prevent hospitalisation and re-hospitalisation?
• If hospitalisation occurs, how can you prevent it in the future and transition to the community safely?

Speak-Up for Patient Safety

Sometimes, healthcare professionals feel that they do not have the right to express their opinions on things they see in the medical field, which may result in patient harm. This session will look at the importance of speaking up for patient safety and will discuss:

• Why is it important to empower all healthcare workers, including students, to speak up?
• What are the difficulties in empowering healthcare students to speak up?
• How can we change a culture of underreporting possible breaches to patient safety?

Creating a Just Culture – Understanding the Nature of Mistakes in Healthcare

As the complexity of healthcare increases the risks of human error increases too. We are all human and humans react (fairly) consistently to surrounding circumstances. A basic understanding of the complexity of our systems, the nature of human error and the creation of just cultures (vs blame cultures) in healthcare can go a long way to shifting the culture and creating a safer environment for all of us. This session includes:

• Errors in healthcare – some statistics
• Why mistakes happen in healthcare
• Updates on the Swiss cheese model of healthcare
• Complex systems and the impact they have on the outcomes of error and safety
• Human factors and what they have to do with safety
• What we can do, both individually and collectively, to manage this problem – it’s easier than you might think!

Be Careful and Kind to YOURSELF! Self-Compassion and Its Impact on Care

There is an increasing focus on compassion in healthcare (and society) with an associated questioning of why it appears to be dwindling. There is more and more evidence emerging that compassion for others is only possible when we are also compassionate to ourselves. This session will give you some space to understand the connection and the reality of why it’s not easy, as well as room to consider your experience of compassion at the moment. Discuss:

• What is compassion? Is it really dwindling in society and healthcare? If so, why might that be?
• Is it recoverable?
• What are the benefits of compassion? Can it really be “fatigued”? If so, what causes this?
• What is self-compassion?
• Let’s have a little practice...